How to set a record for the number of games sold per console

MS Xbox masterclass

Microsoft is trumpeting the fact that its console buyers, "can't get enough of the Xbox launch games... gamers are buying 2.4 games with every Xbox, resulting in the highest game attach rate ever recorded for a console at launch".

So reads Microsoft's latest press release, but as a few Reg readers have been quick to point out, this is a form of democracy where no matter who you vote for, the politicians win. Reader Brian Henry comments that the KB toy stores he visited required the purchase of games in order to buy the console itself. One store demanded three games with a box, while the other wanted two, an average of 2.5, which is rather close to the figure MS is touting.

Taking a peek at some of the recommended Xbox purchase sites seems to confirm this. Amazon, has three bundles available for the box: Adrenaline, All Star and Premier. All sell for $499; all include an extra controller, a six-month magazine subscription and three titles. The difference? Each has different titles to choose from. To be fair though, it flogs GameCubes in similar packages.

Wal-Mart is a little cheekier. Its three packages range between $519.59 and $854.48. The base option includes a console, two controllers, a DVD playback kit and three titles. The others are identical but include six and nine titles, respectively. It does a similar thing with its GameCube bundles, but its largest pack demands five games, not nine.

Electronics Boutique has two Xbox bundles, Bravo and Gamma, allowing you to choose either three or four titles. It sells a range of GameCube goods, but not a package with the console itself (that we could find).

Game Crazy is similar, it has three Xbox options, each with two games; you're lucky enough to be able to choose between them. It has no channel for picking up a GameCube.

CompUSA is nice enough to give users the choice of just buying a console, without packaging a list of extras on with it.

As Microsoft's press release continues, "sales are also very strong for Microsoft's Halo, Project Gotham Racing, NFL Fever 2002 and third-party games such as Dead or Alive 3 from Tecmo, Madden NFL 2002 from Electronic Arts and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x from Activision". As it happens, these are the very same titles bundled with the console packages listed above. ®